At the AMTA convention this past weekend here in Cincinnati, the Ashiatsu booth picked a winner each day for a $200 gift certificate off tuition. The three winners were picked at random each day and did not need to be present to win.

Congratulation to the following massage therapists!

• Lisa Jacobs; Harrison, OH
• Pam Kostecke; E. Rochester, NY
• Michele Croston; Louisville, OH

The winners can receive $200 off tuition for any  2007 Barefoot Basics class located at a permanent training facility in the US. Thanks to all the 200+ LMTs to entered the contest!

Cincinnati's hosting of the AMTA national convention started off with a bang. Booths were busy with massage therapists and family members from all over the country perusing products and experiencing various massage modalities.

The Ashiatsu booth was packed all night, and within an hour, the sign up sheet for free massages was filled up for the weekend! X chatted with Ashi grads and those who are very interested in watching, receiving and learning barefoot massage. Cincinnati AOBT grad James Reischmann and I gave demos all evening.

The booth next to ours, Bamboo-Fusion, was also packed all evening with founder Nathalie Cecilia demonstrating bamboo chair massage to willing LMTs! Nathalie's bamboo massage website is here.

Ohio's AMTA chapter will host the AMTA national convention starting tomorrow. Even if you don't take any of the continuing education courses, please stop by the Vendor's Marketplace. It will be a great place to meet therapists from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and the rest of the US. Hob nob with other LMTs and check out the vendors.

Ruthie Hardee, founder of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, will be at out AOBT booth #612. Any ashi grads can stop by and get a free AOBT bumper sticker, which are new this year. Nathalie Cecilia, founder of the Bamboo-Fusion, will be there right next to our barefoot massage booth!

Massage therapsits-here's a website you need! Massage Momentum teaches you all the things you need to run a massage business without stresss.

Cincinnati is hosting the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) national convention this week. The Exhibits Marketplace's grand opening will be starting at 4:30 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati, OH. Exhibits of modalities (including Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy and Bamboo-Fusion), table manufactures, supply stores (such as our local Massage Supplies and Such) and vendors like Mother Earth Pillows will be proudly displaying products and features!

The Exhibits Marketplace will run

• Thursday, 9/27 from 4:30-8:30 pm,
• Friday, 9/28 from 11:30-3 pm and 5-8:30 pm
• Saturday, 9/29 from 11:30-3 pm

The marketplace is open to the public for massage therapists and the general public.

Bamboo massage is becoming more popular among therapists and clients. Why use bamboo? It's easier on the therapist, but it's more comfortable on clients than traditional tools. Using warmed bamboo or rattan, the therapist rolls and presses these unusual items on the client's lubricated body.

Live bamboo stocks steamed in essential oils are massaged into the body using a combination of rolling, sliding, kneading, and tapping to relieve and renew stressed muscles. This exotic treatment is not only relaxing but is also very therapeutic. By utilizing the bamboo your massage therapist is able to customize the depth of your massage to suite your personal needs.

I received a bamboo chair massage at the AMTA convention in Atlanta last year. It was suprisingly relaxing and soothing. Nathalie Cecilia teaches Bamboo-Fusion massages and is credentialed to teach in Florida. National CEU approval is pending. You can contact her at Bamboo-Fusion.com. Nathalie will be at the AMTA convention in Cincinnati next week (September 26-28) giving out free demonstations. Stop by and give it a try! She'll be right next to the Ashiatsu booth (we're booth 612).

Ashiatsu Training and Classes

Just before I graduated from college, my car died. Well, more than that. I had to leave it on a country road when it stopped running, only to find one week later that it had been towed because some hillbillies thought it would be fun to ram into the side of it with a pick up truck. Barely driveable, I tried to get it back to school. But while it had been lying on it's side prior to being towed, all the oil had run out of it. So the engine caught on fire, and that was truly the demise of my Datsun B-210 (I loved it, despite it's oxidized paint and holes in the floor boards).

Armed with the practical "Theatre and Film" degree (minor in Business Admin), I had planned to seek my fame and fortune (or at least meager earnings) as the next Steven Spielburg. Yet, I decided that a car was necessary. And that, in turn, required a paying job. So I fell into retail management for a short spell.

I accidentally got a job after a couple of years in restaurant management, and the hours weren't conducive to any type of theatre work. With a new husband and a baby or two, it was looking less and less like I would follow my passion. I really did enjoy many aspects of restaurant management. It was fast paced, I got exercise and ate for free. But the hours were killers, and I was unfulfilled.

My husband was supportive when I told him I wanted to get my Masters' Degree. But in what? After some pondering, I thought marriage counseling would be a good idea. But he tactfully suggested that it probably wasn't the best course of action for me.

It so happened that around that time, he had given me two gift certificates for massage. I was hooked. I asked the LMT where she went to school, what was involved, etc. Next was the research at the library. My husband was suprised that I thought that maybe I could touch people for a living. Holding my breath, I asked my parents what they thought. I really thought that they would think it was weird. They're all for advanced education--Mom has a PhD, and my pop is "ABD" (All But Dissertation). They thought it was a great idea though, so it was all systems go!

I went to SHI (Self Health Incorporated) in Lebanon, OH. It's a little north of Kings' Island, the huge Cincinnati amusement park. Great school, wonderful instructors, cadaver studies included. I graduated in October 1998 and passed my State of Ohio Medical Boards shortly thereafter. I LOVED massage! I still love massage! I hung on to my restaurant job one day a week for a few months but finally went solely into massage in 1999.

Four pregnancies and five babies later, I still love massage. I did hand-on massage for the first two of those pregancies until about a week before my due dates. Ashiatsu saved my career when I was expecting my twins. All my kids (yes, there are seven of them, for those who are trying to count them all) have a wonderful touch and would make great massage therapists. Well, except the youngest, who destroys everything he comes across.  My older children can't wait for me to teach them Ashiatsu.

In July, I came home after an out of town teaching expedition. After having spent hours in airports, on planes and in cars, my back was killing me. My seven year old asked me if I wanted a massage. "YES!" So she told me to lie on the floor, over there by the wall. And she proceeded to walk on my back. Now, that's love!

This is the final portion of Massaging with Sole.

Ruthie Hardee and her team of dedicated instructors currently teach four classes in barefoot massage. I teach on a regular basis in Cincinnati, OH and am currently in Denver, CO, having just taught the introductory course followed by Anterior. I taught in Davenport, IA a couple of weeks ago to some wonderful therapists eager to learn this barefoot massage.

Barefoot Basics are one footed strokes suited for the posterior side of the client's body. Any therapist with grace and coordination can learn these strokes, and she or he learn to shift body weight according to the client's needs. In Anterior/Side-Lying, the massage therapist learns both clinical side lying work as well as a luxurious spa approach to the anterior side of the client's body. The client's eyes are comfortably covered during this anterior massage, and all neck and pectoral work is done with the LMT seated on a stool. Arms and legs are included in the anterior protocol as well.

The advanced class of Deepfeet 2 teaches the massage therapist to use his or her entire body weight in two footed posterior strokes which are well suited for larger clients who really need or enjoy deep tissue massage. Therapists need good upper arm and core strength to give this wonderful two footed massage. And finally, the Fusion-Blend is considered to be the final mastery of all the posterior strokes, and it may be taken after Deepfeet 2.

As author Toby Osborne says, "Of course, whether you try Ashiatsu because you want to recharge your chi or relax your body, barefoot massage has an illustrious past that's worth celebrating."

If you're interested in trying Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy (otherwise known as AOBT),  Hardee's website Deepfeet.com  has a therapist locator service for all the states with certified Ashiatsu therapists. Not all AOBT therapists choose to list on the site, but you can always contact Ruthie at Ruthie@deepfeet.com if you can't find a certified Ashiatsu therapist in your area.

Have a group of therapists in your area needing to learn Ashiatsu? Please contact me at fredettemassage@fuse.net.

Please read the previous days' blogs for parts one and two of Massaging with Sole!

"What I like about barefoot massage," says fan Scot Voss of Cincinnati, "is that it's so much softer than regular massage. I don't have to worry about pointy elbows and fingers. It's really deep and relaxing all at the same time."

In fact, many spas throughout the country list Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy on their menu. Canyon Ranch health spas offer this style of barefoot massage in their locations in Tuscon, AZ, Lenox, MA, onboard the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship and at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Ashiatsu can also be found at prestigious massage spas such as Urban Oasis in Chicago.  The Insider's Guide "Best of the Rockies"  lists Ashiatsu massage at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek as one of the "Most Memorable."

Sports enthusiasts who require deep work are typically harder for massage therapists to work on because of their muscle density. But by using gravity assisted effleurage, trained therapists can save some energy, reduce fatigue and save their wrists by performing this style of barefoot effleurage. In fact, the September/October 2007 issue of Luxury Spa Finder list Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy as their "ultimate skier's massage."

Part 4, the last portion about our wonderful barefoot massage, is coming tomorrow! (Why is called "gamma"? It's the last letter in the Greek alphabet).

Please see yesterday's blog for the first part of this article.

While other forms of ashiatsu take into consideration breathing patterns, chi, and other energetic work, AOBT focuses on muscle and bone. Many orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors and physicians are fans of Hardee's style of barefoot massage. As Dr. Eric Dieffenbaugher, owner of Progressive Chiropractic Health and Wellness in Fairfield, OH says, "Ashiatsu is a wonderful adjunct to chiropratic car, in particular in regards to patients with lumbar disc problems because of it's deep compression and ability to traction out the spine."

This Western style of barefoot massage can be very deep but can also be modified for those who don't like as much pressure. While contraindicated for such clients as those who have uncontrolled blood pressure, women who are pregnant or are trying to conceive, and those on heavy blood thinners, this massage treatment can be very helpful for those clients with chronic low back pain. It's known to help improve posture, relieve pain and yet do it in a gentle but deep fashion.

Part 3 (aka "gamma") is coming tomorrow!